R861065 A long term restoration

[Northern Lander]

Was the 5th car imported to Queensland. Was found pulled apart but all body panels appear to be there along with original diffs.
Unfortunately the engine and gearbox are missing
The chassis has been extended with parts from a later 80" chassis spliced in, otherwise it is very sound.
Still has its original sign writing on tailgate and front right guard which proved that Annand & Thompson started sign writing their land rovers from the start.
Dispatched In 1/12/1948
Dispatched Out 20/12/1948
Now the hunt will be on for 1. a side plate engine, 2. a ring pull gearbox and 3. a 4.88 front diff centre.


For now I will asses what is there and what needs doing, hmm think the list will be long.
The chassis will be sent away soon to be repaired.


Wardy

[incisor]

WELL DONE!

that should buff up just nice.....

[Northern Lander]

Thanks Incisor,


It has taken nearly 7 years to track the car down and by luck it didn't go to the scrap man.


Wardy

[numpty]

Nice find. You have your work cut out there. ;)

[Northern Lander]

My work will be cut out but in the end it will be worth it considering its heritage.
Here are a few more pics of the tailgate and mudguard with hand written sign writing.
Also a pic of the dash loosely put together for now to make space.


Wardy

[Lost Landy]

Thank the gods that someone grapped it I saw the add on gumtree and was worried that it had gone to the land of scrap, If I was closer I would have travelled up there to collect it myself any ways well done :D

[Northern Lander]

Oops here is the pic of the dash


Wardy

[russellrovers]

Oops here is the pic of the dash


Wardyhi brendan the speedo has arrivved from the ukthe 1948 type ss.511x42873/56 1575 british jaeger made in england also i ordered a petrol gauge regards jim

[Cobber]

Well done on saving it :BigThumb:

[Northern Lander]

Thank Cobber, it wasn't an easy task and put a dent in the old wallet but was worth it for the result.


Thanks Jim, will give you a call soon and organise a trip over to say G'day.


Now that I am back from my work trip I can kick off again and look at getting the chassis sand blasted and fix up.


Wardy

[Pickles2]

Congratulations on your find.
You said it took 7 years to find it. So were you aware of this one's existance for all that time?
I'm looking forward to the continuing story, both in words & images, of the "rescue" of this classic.
Pickles.

[Northern Lander]

Hi Pickles,
I have been aware of its existence however was never able to ascertain its chassis number, it was just luck that it came up when it did.


I hope to have the vehicle to a rolling chassis by the end of the year.


Wardy

[digger]

hi brendan the speedo has arrivved from the ukthe 1948 type ss.511x42873/56 1575 british jaeger made in england also i ordered a petrol gauge regards jim

Jim,
just a query..what is the approx price of the speedo and other guages?
(ballpark will do)

[Northern Lander]

Now that I have sort of sorted under the house out I can now start pulling the chassis and bulkhead apart for sand blasting and repairs.
One chassis rail turned out to be full of leaves (probably the start of a rats nest!)
The other rail was full of dirt and rust (the usual)
Once cut of the rear cross member turned out to be a little the worse for wear on the bottom https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/07/198.jpg ah rust.
I am hoping to have it all pulled apart and ready to go by next weekend, this will free up some space to finish pulling the bulkhead apart.
Also I have noted that all the brass parts exposed to the elements have turned black, and the pic of the petrol pump, it has corroded that bad it just came away from the alloy part on its rescue trip.
Ill post more once pulled apart

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

A couple more,
Looks like some unscrupulous individual has tried at some time in the past to prise the Oil recommendation plate with a flat blade screwdriver hmm, could have been worse I suppose.

Wardy

[wrinklearthur]

Looking at the remains of the petrol pump, it looks to be broken away from it's body by a force from inside the chamber of the pump.

The only thing I know that would generate that type of force, water has found it's way inside the pump somehow and then frozen in a frost with the ice swelling to break the flange of the coil housing.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/series-i-land-rover-enthusiasts-section/81227d1406458652-r861065-long-term-restoration-p7270066.jpg

If you have trouble finding a suitable one up your way, I have a spare housing that you can have, it will need a new coil fitted.
.

[NQSeriesRover]

Hi wardy,

I am up in Kuranda. My father passed away this January but we had collected many old rovers over the years (more than 30). Am now left with his 86" (a daily driver) plus a full rebuild 80" thats 90% complete and the 112th made SII 88" which needs lots of work...all these I'm keeping but I have a SI 107" 4 door wagon up for grabs and sheds full of parts. Considering you are reasonably close to us, let me know if you are ever up this way or need any bits.

Regards, Matt

[Northern Lander]

Hi Matt,


Thanks for the offer I have PM'd you.


Work for today has been more cutting, almost all done then I can start to get it re-welded


Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Have been doing some more angle grinding and pulling bits apart

All added bits on the chassis are now cut out, most bolts have come apart well all except one shock absorber mount https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/08/1417.jpg the welded type that just had to snap.
Bulkhead is off and will be stripped later.

Wondered why the clutch pedal was hard to remove then found out why.... at some stage someone has stamped very hard on the pedal and must have snapped it off, also it has put a big dent in the floor. (will now have to try to find a good clutch pedal)

Tomorrows effort will be the spring bushes and steering relay! fingers crossed

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

A few more including the exhaust bracket on the passenger outrigger

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Todays effort was to get the pedal shafts out and any of the last bits.
Unfortunately had to sacrifice one cotter pin as it just wouldn't budge!! also the clutch bushes were worn but brake ones are still serviceable.
Last job was to knock some more rust out and check the bottom of the chassis, well found a little more rust.
Contrary to popular belief we do get rust here and this vehicle being left out in the open for best guess 25 years + it has survived quite well.
Also the Atherton Table lands are quite damp most of the time, I have seen land rovers up there that have sat for 5 years totally rusted away, this is also due to the fast rate of growth of the vegetation.

Last job left is get the relay out, hmmmm well its sort of out, now just waiting for the penetrating spray to get in, it moved a little so a plus.

Wardy

[Timj]

Hi Wardy,

I recently did the clutch and brake pedal stuff on my '58 88" and got original bushes, thrust washers, pins and a NOS clutch relay shaft from Craddocks. Not sure if they would have 80" stuff still but might be worth a try. I also had the same thing with the clutch pedal welded to the lever by some previous owner but I managed to salvage the pedal. I had to put in another lever that I found in the spares pile. I have a clutch pedal that looks like the one you have but it is different from the '58 so if you need it let me know and I will send you a photo to see if it matches.

Cheers,

TimJ.

[Northern Lander]

Hi Tim
Thanks for letting me know about the bushes etc, if nothing else the info will be good for the resto of the 109 RACQ landy.

All bushes are now out of the chassis and just working the relay to get it out, hmmmm its getting there one blow at a time.

Wardy

[1950landy]

I will have a look for the clutch peddle & bushes tomorrow & give you a call on the weekend.

[Northern Lander]

Hi Wayne, thanks for having a look.


Been away with work so not much has been done of late, finished of stripping the rear cross member and now about to start on the bulkhead.
Will have to be careful here with a few bits.


Wardy

[1950landy]

Had a look for those parts today & didn't find anything . When i am not looking for parts i am triping over them then when i want them can't find them. "OLD AGE I THINK" I'll have a look again next week I have to find some Rover P6 parts so will keep finding LR parts i guess.:mad:

[Northern Lander]

Hi Wayne,
Thanks for having a look, no rush I still have to get it all sand blasted and welded before I even think of re assembly


Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Hi All,

Well due to work commitments progress has slowed, however I have now managed to remove the relay from the chassis finally, just a little bit of rust was holding it in.
Also trimmed up the ratty bits of the chassis and have it ready to sand blast.
Only item left now is the bulkhead, this is stripped and only have the toe boards to go, well going to be patient with the bolts on these.
Also stood the chassis up and knocked the rust and dust out, drivers side rust and passenger dust, strange.

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

A bit more progress today, work having taken priority for that last few weeks.
Bulkhead is stripped bar the passenger toe board, ran out of gas so that's a tomorrow job.
A few interesting details were the roughly constructed parts of the bulkhead when it was first assembled, rough cutting of panels, holes not straight, all part of its history though.
It still had its metal cover for the junction box, even had a paper gasket inside.
The clip to hold the wiring loom on the accelerator pedal shaft was the wrong way round (I think) so made getting to loom of very hard.

The last one is a strange one, when I removed the oil recommendation plate I found some extra holes underneath, as if for another smaller plate......... does anyone know of any other vehicles with this??

That's it for now, it will be of to the sand blaster in the next couple of weeks

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

A couple more.

Under the cover plate on the passenger toe board its a little rusty, ah well looks like I will have to get some remade.

Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Oops here they are.


Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Well finally done phew, amazingly with little loss of skin or blood......so far.
Although while getting the last bits off the bulkhead and panel beating it I found some more rust :undecided:
Now of to the sand blaster, it will probably find some more bits of damage but will be sound once done.
Pulled the cover off the passenger toe board
One interesting point is some of the washers holding the toe boards on have had one side filed flat to clear the bulkhead, I will have to remember this for reassembly.
That's it for now.
Wardy

[1950landy]

Brendan . I have a malassis tank if you want to soke bits in it . They need to fit into a 44gal drum.:p

[Northern Lander]

Well its been quite awhile since my last post.
Since then the chassis and bulkhead have been repaired and look very nice.
A big thankyou to Taz who has done a fantastic job of resurrecting the chassis and bulkhead. Keep looking at it and cant believe its the same one.
It was by no means an easy job however when looking inside the rear cross member and outriggers they were all in very good condition.


Next job now is to seal inside the chassis and bulkhead then get a coat of silver paint on the chassis.
Then onto the diffs to make a rolling chassis.


Wardy

[1950landy]

I can see one mistake , you have not got a pull wire in the chassis to pull the wiring through . Not going to be easy now.

[Northern Lander]

Hi Wayne, yes well spotted.
Lucky its not a LWB, I have come up with a solution for threading the wiring though but this will be done after the chassis is sealed inside and painted silver outside. It will be a future Brendan problem :)
Unfortunately work is going to hinder any quick progress this year but Ill get little bits done here and there.
Next I will look at breaking the diffs down into component parts and do a little bit when I can.


Wardy

[wrinklearthur]

Hi Wayne, yes well spotted.
Lucky its not a LWB, I have come up with a solution for threading the wiring though but this will be done after the chassis is sealed inside and painted silver outside. It will be a future Brendan problem :)
Unfortunately work is going to hinder any quick progress this year but Ill get little bits done here and there.
Next I will look at breaking the diffs down into component parts and do a little bit when I can. Wardy

There is a easy way, First; leave the rubber grommets out till the loom is installed.
Obtain a length of 'Yellow Tongue', that is found in the mating edge of chipboard flooring panels.
Drill a hole near the end of the 'Yellow Tongue' and attach a length of 'Brickies Line' into the hole.
Push the 'Yellow Tongue' and line inside the chassis through to the other end, with a piece of coat hanger wire fashion a small hook, then use this hook to pull the Brickies line up out of the chassis, then tie the wiring loom onto the 'Brickies Line' and pull the whole lot back through.
Having got all this gear already made up here at my place, I can do this job quicker than the time it's taken to type this up. :p
.

[Northern Lander]

Thanks for the very good suggestion Arthur, I will give it a go.


Also are you still interested in the 2ltr Diesel engines that I have up north??
I have to look at moving them soonish.


Thanks


Wardy

[Northern Lander]

Been awhile since last post,

Recently managed to contact a previous owner of the vehicle and received some interesting information.
It was originally owned by a sawmill in Far North QLD, from there it was owned by the person I contacted from the early 80's then given to the Person that I purchased the vehicle from in the 90's.
So that makes me the 4th owner.
Also by all accounts the vehicle has been pulled apart since the late 60's early 70's. I was told that when the 2nd owner picked it up it had been pulled apart for 20 odd years.
Also he had to rummage through an old igloo (WW2 half round building) where it was spread all over the place, he spent 4 hours looking for parts.
By all accounts the engine (pulled apart) and gearbox were with it then.
So gives me a bit more info to play with and more research to do

Wardy